The understanding of my destination influences everything.

Music

09/24/2011

If there were any doubts about the power of social media to turn an industry upside down, look at the recording industry. The story of the band Cults at the Austin City Limits Festival is included below.

ACL is a powerful venue. Has been for years. I remember watching ACL on PBS back in the 70s and 80s, even today when I can catch it, and seeing great bands, singers and songwriters. Some were famous, some not so much. But a great venue nonetheless.

Cults is a great indie group. They have a loyal following. But over half a million views? Comparable to the mega group Coldplay? That's social media power.

The recording industry has nothing to do with it.

It's all the fans.

The fans have the power now in all music genres.

Except for maybe Top 40 radio which still seems to think that they are the buzz makers - they are heavily influenced by the recording industry - thus the demise of Top 40 radio.

Good on ya Cults!

Good on ya ACL!

Good on ya fans!

Keep it up!

Something phenomenal happened during our Austin City Limits Festival live webcast this past weekend. A band blew up right before our eyes DURING the Festival weekend. It happened online. And it further proved that in 2011 Festival webcasts are making a difference for artists.

Full disclosure: I produce the live webcasts and the video at the ACL Festival (and Lollapalooza and Coachella).

Here’s what happened.

In addition to the live webcast of 50 bands, we were asked by YouTube if we could clear at least 4 artist-approved songs for the online Archives by the end of Friday night. If so, they would promote these videos on the YT Home Page on Saturday, and drive traffic to the ACLFestival page. We scrambled and got approved titles from Coldplay, Foster the People, Brandi Carlile, and Smith Westerns. And an emerging band called Cults, who played first-up on Friday at 11:45am, in front of a few hundred on a small stage, just about the lowest slot at the Fest.

The YT Home Page promo went up mid-Saturday. By midnight on Saturday 160,000 people has streamed the VOD of Cults buzzed-about song ‘Go Outside.’ At that point Coldplay’s new single Paradise was at 150,000 streams. Foster’s hit also had big numbers. By Sunday the Cults number was 320,000; Coldplay tracking right with them. As of Tuesday evening when I’m writing this, uber-stars Coldplay are at 502,817 streams, and Cults are right there at 502,416. Five Hundred Thousand Streams in 4 days!!! It’s not a dancing cat or a cute baby. It’s a song. I knew Cults had a buzz, but WOW.

All these videos and dozens more below:

I just like this story.

Young band, barely out of the basement, gets blog love, still getting their shit together, hasn’t toured much, record just out. Then HUGE CRAZY numbers of fans find them this week online, and see that they are cool. And this costs the band nothing. The label didn’t do it. The festival promoters (C3 Presents) made this happen (and YouTube, more on them later). Everyone on the band’s team gets jazzed. They sell-out more shows. Get to make more records. Rock ‘n Roll lives to fight another day.

And it’s surely not our video genius that’s making this happen. Frankly, our video for Cults is not so damn good. It was Noon (!), first band of the first day, our smallest stage, director hasn’t settled in, doesn’t even know his cameramen’s names yet. It’s 101 degrees in Texas, band is barely awake, crowd is just arriving. We only had 3 cameras working there, so I’m just thrilled we even caught it properly. It’s all live/live, no edits, no remix. But a hit’s a hit!

Cults are far from the only ones to benefit from Fest webcasts. At Coachella the indie-band Freelance Whales told me they vaulted into the top Twitter Trends during their webcast performance. Foster the People at Lolla got crazy numbers for their perf video of Pumped Up Kicks. Coldplay has blogged repeatedly about their Festival webcasts, and the traffic has followed. My Morning Jacket’s's online fans came back to the band with tons of love for their Lolla and ACL shows. Just a few examples, but literally every band connects.

So what changed in 2011? It’s on YouTube, that’s what. You need a great Festival, committed promoters, and a sponsor who wants to be part of it all. But YouTube brings it to the people globally, and then let’s them know it’s there. At Coachella, we cleared Arcade at 5pm on showday, and Kanye at 8pm on showday, and YouTube still got the word out. They sit in our trucks all weekend, and tweak the user experience non-stop. And get this, they care about the music. I’m telling you, they are passionate.

06/11/2010

I’ve said it before, as a Dad to two girls I’m scared to death to raise my daughters in today’s culture, especially when I think about what waits for them when they grow up.

I grew up in the 80s, which weren’t perfect of course but still tame by comparison to today’s entertainment scene. MTV had just come on the scene and featured lots of big hair and cheesy music videos. Artists like Michael Jackson or Madonna pushed the envelope and caught flack for their “edginess.”

Today is a different story though. It seems every time I pull up a news page one artist or another is making headlines for setting the bar lower still with some racy music video or concert publicity stunt.

Lady Gaga, no stranger to controversy, released her latest music video on Tuesday for her song ‘Alejandro.’ It features Gaga dressed in a latex nun’s habit, sucking on rosary beads and at the center of a gay orgy dressed in a crucifix-emblazoned robe with a cross over her crotch.

What a waste of talent! Now, I don't like Lady Gaga, but I cannot deny that she is a very talented artist. But is this the best our culture has to offer? Where are the cutting edge Christian artists? Certainly not on "family friendly radio". (hat tip to Adri over at The Contemplative Life for another great thought on this subject.)

Where are the artists that realize the Judeo-Christian worldview is not something to be railed against, but something to be celebrated and explored?

Until we take back our culture, latex nun habits, celebrated gay orgies and sex-centered "entertainment" will continue to be accepted as mainstream, high culture, entertainment. It's a very sad state.

03/13/2010

Hawk Nelson is a Christian pop/rock/punk band that seems spawned from the likes of Green Day and Blink 182. A night of church Middle School chaperoning to a Baltimore Blast soccer match and the following free concert turned into a pretty good photo op.

11/06/2009

From an early age, I loved art. Drawing, tracing, dreaming up new and strange creatures and designs – they all inspired me. Then, I stumbled into photography on a church youth trip to Ridgecrest, NC where, using an early ‘70s Canon EF SLR film camera with a 50 mm f/1.4 prime lens all borrowed from my brother, I actually made some really interesting photos. All by accident, of course! I had the shutter speed dialed in to the bulb setting for the entire trip so my photos were either wildly blurry or, when I held the camera stable enough and had fast enough fingers to open and close the shutter quickly, they had wonderful full color and just enough of blur to create a sense of mystery and softness. Yes, all by accident. But, this experience has remained with me for the last 25 years as a wonderful accident.

I also had a fun and impactful run in the Clinton High School Attaché Show Choir. Yes, me, singing and dancing my way to zero stardom! Still, the impact on my enjoyment of good music was long lasting.

Then, I realized that I was really good at science and math. Thus began my transition from a life full of creativity, art and music to one filled with logic, reason and formulas. Life took a different turn as I pursued my engineering education and career. Very much a turn that, in retrospect, took my life in a direction that has been both fulfilling and rewarding, but also lacking. Thus, my attempt in this blog to delve deeper into my inner creative side while, at the same time, celebrating the technical and logical side of life.

Engineering was the logical route for my career. The only problem with this was that my experience in engineering school beat the creativity out of me (figuratively, of course). Logic and reason were all important. Formula and the scientific method were my guiding principles. There was no place for creativity, art or expression. Of course, this serves me well in my engineering and scientific career but my artistic and creative side was suppressed.

My marriage to Mardi definitely was a God thing! Not only is she wonderfully made to be my soul mate, but she has a creative side that was a perfect counter to my logical side. Mardi is an Interior Designer (not an Interior Decorator – DO NOT make that mistake with her! Ha!) and her creative flair was nurtured in college. Marrying a creative soul was one of the best things to happen to me! I was able to tag along to her design firm’s presentations and parties, enjoy the presentations on why creativity and design were important in their work, hang out with other creative folks and just soak in the artistic juices. By the way, her “brush with fame” was working with Vern Yip of HGTV fame at the same firm in Atlanta for a few years.

With Mardi’s encouragement and support, I’ve been able to rediscover some of my creative side. I mostly work with photography now, and it is a work in progress. I’m learning as I go and finding the time to really focus on this has become my big challenge. I don’t seem to have the patience anymore with drawing and painting. I really am disappointed in this, but I think the drive for immediate results and the “now” attitude in today’s workplace has influenced me in this. I hope that this will change as I learn and mature with age.

So this brings me to today. I love photography, music and good design. Why? Because it takes work and talent to do them well. They can’t be reduced to a series of numbers or formulas. They’re subjective yet follow many established rules. They initiate visceral responses of the mind and body. They have the amazing ability to delve deep into our grey matter and find memories of experiences in times gone by, both happy and sad, that make us who we are. Ever hear a song and you are instantly transported to a childhood memory? Yeah, me too. I’ve got this song from Jefferson Airplane that, no matter where or when I hear it, I instantly think about riding in my parents’ Ford Country Squire station wagon – you know, the one with the simulated wood paneling. I don’t even remember the song’s name, just the tune instantly transports me. So does any song by Maxi Priest – they’re all pretty sexy – but I’ll just have to leave that one silent on the memory to which it transports me. Ahem. I digress.

10/27/2009

Welcome to my new blog experience – “A Blueprint in the Chaos”. As an engineer, I have been trained to follow the blueprint – the plan – that is presented to me. The blueprint usually is thorough and easy to follow. Sometimes it contains just enough information to point you in the right direction, allowing you to make informed, educated decisions concerning the next step. And then, sometimes, the blueprint may be so confusing that you can’t make any sense of what it seems to be saying. All of these statements have been applicable to my life at one point or another, and I suspect that they also may be similar to yours.

My name is Jonathan Hasson and I’m a man on a mission…a mission to discover as much as I can of the blueprint that has been prepared for me. So far, the blueprint has held many surprises, some tears and many blessings. It’s taken me to a place today where I sometimes refer to myself as an engineer with a creative side hiding inside, dying to escape. That’s probably an exaggeration (I’m not a trained artist, but I do love art and design – and I no longer practice engineering, but I am a register Professional Engineer), but in many ways it does describe my life today.

I am Civil Engineer working in the water and wastewater industry. I’m the fortunate and blessed husband of almost 17 years to a wonderful woman, Mardi, and the father of two beautiful and wonderful 11 and 5 year old girls. I’m an evangelical follower of Christ, conservative political junkie, lover of good music, coffee and other libations, as well as an aspiring photographer. I am the operations manager for a leading environmental technology and services company in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. I’m the third child of a Southern Baptist pastor and elementary school librarian. Childhood was one of happiness, fun and family. However, it was not a life of luxury or riches; it was more of hard work and frugality to help sustain a family of 5 on a pastor’s and teacher’s income. Later in life, I have come to realize the impact this has had on my view of religion, culture, politics, personal accountability, finances and work.

We currently live in Parkton, MD, the not-so-famous home to oenophile and editor of The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker, Jr. That’s about all that’s famous about Parkton. However, life has given me the opportunity to live, work and play in various locales – proud to have been born and raised in Mississippi (’68 to ’74, ’77 to ’87), lived for a while in Indiana (’74 to ’77 - lost much of my Southern accent there), schooled at Mississippi State University (BS in ’90, MS in ’92) – Go Bulldogs! – started my career in Atlanta, GA (’93 to ’98), found my career springboard and love of the beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico (’98 to ’01), back again to Atlanta where I made the jump out of engineering to management (’01 to ’03), had my idea of living transformed in Orange County, CA (’03 to ’08) and now live the “country” life in Maryland.

I believe creativity, design and artistic expression are just as important to one’s makeup as are logic and reason. The Lord created them all for our use and enjoyment as well as for His worship and praise. It is my hope to delve into these ideas in this blog. I need to express my inner artist. I need to develop this inner writer that I think is hiding somewhere in my psyche. Why “A Blueprint in the Chaos”? Because I believe that this is my life. God has a blueprint for me. He has since before I was a twinkle in my parents’ eyes. His blueprint is my guide in the chaos of life. If I can tap into and learn from the blueprint He has laid out for me, then He will help me navigate the chaos of life today.

So, I welcome you to come along for the ride. I’ll share some of my photographic endeavors. I’ll share my finds from the design and art world. Writers, books and music will be explored. I’ll link up and hopefully introduce you to some of my favorite artists, writers, bloggers and creative friends. And, yes, I may even satisfy the engineer, logical and reasoning side of me with posts relating to my career, personal finance and science. I probably will open myself up for great challenges and debate in politics. I hope you’ll enjoy this as much as I. It promises to be a fun time. Thanks for checking it out!

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About Jonathan

My
name is Jonathan Hasson and I’m a man on a mission…a mission to
discover as much as I can of the blueprint that God has for me. So far,
the blueprint has held many surprises, some tears and many blessings. It’s
taken me to a place today where I sometimes refer to myself as an
engineer with a creative side hiding inside, dying to escape. That’s
probably an exaggeration...